I am hoping to receive a offer of a home loan from Santander. I would like to instruct a Licensed Conveyancer in Hanslope. Does the Santander Conveyancing panel exclude Licensed Conveyancers?
The Santander approved solicitor list is, like many other lenders, represented by the Council or Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.
I am the registered owner of a freehold residence in Hanslope yet pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Hanslope and has limited impact for conveyancing in Hanslope but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of new rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.
It has been 3 months following my purchase conveyancing in Hanslope concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I am buying a new build house in Hanslope with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The house builders rep told me not disclose to my lawyer about the deal as it could adversely affect my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the UK Finance website. UK Finance form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Do I need to be wary about third parties that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Hanslope conveyancing practice?
As is the case with lots of service providers, often input from family and friends can be most helpful. Nevertheless there are lots of players in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies may recommend lawyers to appoint. On occasion the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there may be a financial incentive behind the endorsement. You are free to appoint your preferred lawyer. However, bear in mind that many banks specify a panel list of conveyancers you must use for the lender related work in your transaction.
My 20yr old son is just in the process of moving home, he had his mortgage in principle. After the offer was accepted on flat we called the mortgage company to issue the formal offer. I was disappointed to learn that mortgage companies do not accept all lawyer, they need to be on their approved list, is this legal?
Mortgage Companies ordinarily imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Hanslope solicitor on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Presumably not.